The death of a man who was shot by a Greater Manchester Police taser has led to a national inquiry into the safety of stun guns.
23 year old Jordan Begley was unarmed when he was hit by 50 thousand volts after a disturbance at his family home two years ago.
Now, the National Police Chiefs Council is calling on the Government for an independent review into the use of tasers.

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The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) has called for an independent body to look in detail at the medical evidence and to decide if safety advice on tasers should be changed in light of the death of Jordan Begley and the Home Office's statistics on taser use.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the NPCC's lead on less-lethal weapons, said the verdict "raises some concern about the use of Taser".

He said:

I will be asking the Surgeon General - along with the Home Office - to refer the detailed medical evidence in this case to an independent body in order that they can determine if it is necessary to amend their advice of the safety of this weapon. Their conclusions will be published."

Officers who take the decision to fire the weapon do so in the knowledge that their often split second decision to use force will be judged in detail with the benefit of hindsight over potentially many years and through multiple investigations.

“Officers will not necessarily know the background or health of the person they are confronting, but they must deal with the immediate threat first.

What is important is that if Taser has to be fired to deal with the threat, that officers provide appropriate after care to the subject and are trained to deal with any medical emergency that may follow.

PC Terence Donnelly has been put on restricted duties after an inquiry found his use of a Taser on Jordon Begley was "inappropriate" Credit: MEN Syndication

The police officers involved in the Jordon Begley case have been put on restricted duties after an inquest ruled they were "more concerned with their own welfare" than the man they had tasered.
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Jordon Begley was shot with the 50,000 volt stun gun and hit with “distraction strikes” while being restrained and handcuffed by three armed officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP). He died in hospital about two hours later.

While the initial Taser shock did not cause his heart to stop, the jury concluded that the use of the Taser and the restraint “more than materially contributed” to a “package” of stressful factors leading to Mr Begley’s fatal cardiac arrest, the inquest at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice heard.

In damning conclusions, the jury also said the officer who pulled the trigger, PC Terence Donnelly, inappropriately and unreasonably used the stun gun for longer than was necessary.

Mr Begley’s family now intend to sue GMP after the incident at the family home in Gorton.